September 2008

Status
Not open for further replies.

wayne gustaveson

Moderator
Staff member
October 22, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3623.99
Water Temp: 63-65 F
ssmoon.jpg
It has been a great fishing season but this is my last regular report for the year. Next week we head up lake for annul gill net sampling so I won't be able to provide a new reports from my other office - which is Lake Powell. There will be incidental updates through the winter as news worthy events occur.

The yearly summary is very bright. Shad made a tremendous comeback in 2008. They fed the rising generation of game fish left over after the old generation passed out of the picture in shad-poor 2007. Young stripers grew rapidly, doubling in weight from 1.5 to 3 pounds from spring to fall. Some trophy stripers remain and continue to pack on pounds but the bulk of the population weighs in at 3-4 pounds and is primed to produce a bumper crop of stripers in 2009.
Shane Spravzoff

Striped bass hatched in 2009 will survive on plankton early in the year and may eat some shad in summer and fall if shad are abundant. The main predatory impact of the new striped bass overpopulation will not be felt until 2010. Striped bass fishing in 2009 will be great for large numbers of 4-pound fish. If shad are scarce, bait fishing will be excellent. If shad are abundant in 2009, then stripers will grow to 6-pounds before the predation induced forage crash occurs in 2010.

Bass, particularly largemouth, were treated to a forest of habitat as the lake rose 45 feet in 2008. Brush that had grown around the lake edge was flooded providing dense cover for largemouth, crappie and bluegill. Copious shad were added to the fish forest resulting in lush habitat and feeding conditions seldom seen in this lake.

Smallmouth hung out on the rocks at the edge of the habitat forest feeding on shad at a leisurely rate and loving it. These conditions were optimum for all sport fish. Bluegill, crappie, walleye, and catfish all excelled. The perfect mix of food and cover was to the liking of all participants, perhaps with one exception.

The only one left out in this ideal aquatic situation was the angler. When fish are well fed and housed they have no reason to respond to baits and lures with more than a token attempt. Stripers lost interest in anchovy bait in early summer. With live shad or dead bait on the menu there was little reason to choose bait. Cover made it hard (not impossible) to coax bass out of the sheltered lair to feed when they could consume sunfish and shad without leaving home.

It is refreshing to have a complacent fish year like this occasionally to allow the sport fish a chance grow larger at their leisure. The standard at Powell is large numbers of small fish with low to no forage which makes hungry fish easy to catch. Results in 2008 were completely different with fat fish being difficult to catch. Those pleasant conditions (for fish) remain in place today and it may remain that way through winter.

Patience is the key. This season is all but over. Normal conditions will return. Fishing success will improve in 2009. The end result will be excellent fishing for bigger better fish. I love it.
October 22, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3624
Water Temp: 65-67 F
mmbb1008.jpg

Main lake stripers have gone quiet. My best guess for the lack of feeding is a general attitude of satisfied luxury. They have all the food they want or need. They feed only when they want and are quickly sated. They seem to have little regard for the anglers who would really like to get close and personal with these fat fish.

Here is what's happening. Stripers are feeding quickly during their prime feeding times. At first light and last light there is a brief flurry of feeding. Some of it is on top when 5 fish splash in unison. These fish are as susceptible to angling as are any stripers when they decide to eat. They grab anything close to their mouth when in feeding mode. The event lasts for about 20 minutes and then its over.
Keith Barney with 4.3 pound largemouth

This quick boil is almost impossible to find by running around the lake looking for boils because it is of short duration and happens early when light is not adequate to illuminate a few splashes. Those that have been successful are camped near the action and waiting when the sky lightens in the morning. Once a feeding location is known, an angler could be waiting at the right spot to get 5 quick fish. Find them one day and return to the spot the next for consistent action.

During daylight, fishing is tough with only a random boil that could happen anytime, any place and then not repeat. Spooning is good if a school is found but they move quickly out of the zone. Cooler temperatures will improve spooning results as shad move deep. Do not expect that to happen until November.

Trolling is working near the inflows where shad abundance is high. At Hite and upper San Juan use a deep diver to get down 20 feet and near the lazily moving stripers.

For this week the best bet is to fish for bass around shad schools located in the backs of many brushy coves. Surface lures tossed near brush (with shad) are being whacked with regularity morning and evening. During the day plastic tubes and drop shot shad baits are working on the deep water side of brushy shad coves. Fish 25 feet for best action on keeper sized fish.

When fish are fat and fussy the strategy is to make them mad. Shad colored baits blend win well with thousands of shad. Sometime the wild colors of a fire tiger crankbait trigger a reaction when shad colors will not. Go bright and see if the fishing fortunes improve.
October 15, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3625
Water Temp: 67-69 F
longA.jpg
The Bomber Long A Suspending jerk bait has been a very dependable sub surface lure for me in current feeding conditions.

I went fishing on the morning of the October 14th just to make sure the full moon hex was still viable. Sure was. I didn't get a bite. But that is now over and each night will get darker and hopefully days will be warmer following the first major cold front of the season. By the coming weekend good fishing should prevail.

Full moon is actual helpful right now with cold, windy mornings, in that, shad-chasing fish all seem to wake up mid day and begin feeding. There is a strong feeding period beginning at 11 AM (MST) when much surface action is seen. The next major feeding period occurs from 4 PM to dark.

Shad are still abundant but predators are packing on weight by eating as many shad as possible with water temperature pegged in the preferred activity range. Stripers are most active when water is in the mid 60's and bass get very active both spring and fall in that same range.

The pattern right now is top water lures and shallow runners cast to any two-fish splash seen any time of day. All fish are chasing shad and trapping them against the surface and/or shore allows the predator to effectively corner and catch shad. Splashes against shore often indicate bass, while deep water splashes often mark stripers which can then be caught by fishing spoons directly under the surface disturbance.

Constantly scan the water surface and shoreline for signs of fish activity. A swirl, a gull diving on the water, a coyote walking on shore, ravens perched on rocks, all are indicators of feeding events. Find a shad school in shallow water and use shad like duck decoys. Fish will come to shad. October is hunting season and fish-hunting is good right now. Any of these events may lead to discovering feeding activity and allow one to experience some amazing fishing success.

Mid Lake Powell is probably the best. I would fish from Good Hope Bay to Padre Bay. San Juan and Hite have lots of fish but a few less shad in the main lake makes it a better angling bet. Spend equal time looking for bass and stripers. Both species are found in the same location near shad. One visual trigger may lead to the active feeding zone. Don't ignore stripers feeding on top if fishing for bass. It is likely bass will be caught right in the same spot.

Fishing success should be at its Fall peak during the last two weeks of October.
October 8, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3626
Water Temp: 71-73 F
stbshadsize.jpg

Striper fishing is very selective while bass fishing continues to get better.

The pattern for fat and fussy stripers requires finding fish and then conforming to their feeding behavior. There is no room for deviation. The over riding factor is abundant shad. In these conditions stripers will only eat shad so find what their feeding technique is in your fishing location.

At Hite the feeding pattern requires only short swimming bursts to catch ever present shad. Stripers rest while digesting near the last feeding opportunity. There is not much movement and no schooling behavior as the school is not needed to feed effectively. Therefore, the most effective technique is trolling a deep diver from 15-30 feet to put the lure in front of resting fish. They give a short swimming burst to catch the lure.

In the main lake with a few less shad there is some schooling behavior required to surround a shad school and effectively feed. A few stripers will break water while chasing fleeing shad to the surface but most feeding is under water. The trick is to see 2-3 fish splashing and then quickly get to that spot and drop spoons to the subsurface feeding event. When fish are seen on the graph near tiny boils they can often be caught. Fish quickly and efficiently as stripers are moving quickly among various shad schools.

This morning we started at Lone Rock looking for a boil. We saw only widely scattered fish at first light and could not get any started with top water or spoons. We left there at 7 AM (MST) and searched through Wahweap and crossed into Warm Creek at Castle Rock. We traveled as far back in Warm Creek as the floating rest room without seeing any surface feeding. We then turned toward the main channel on our way to Navajo or Antelope Point. Half way across the bay we saw 10 fish splashing on the east shoreline of Warm Creek directly east of the Caste Rock Cut. They were down by the time we got to the spot and we could not locate them on the graph. But soon we saw a few fish come up a bit further up the shoreline. We got on them and caught 5 on top and then began spooning the school to put another 20 in the boat. Bottom depth varied from 30-70 feet. Stripers used the whole water column while feeding.

The magic time seems to be 8 AM. There is more striper activity between 8-9 than the hours before or after.

When stripers quit it is time to go bass fishing. Green tubes fished on outside rocky points and around submerged brush are very effective. The key is fishing at a bottom depth of 25 feet. I prefer to fish vertically under the boat when targeting deep water. When fish are seen on the graph in these conditions they can be caught.

Catfish, sunfish and crappie are providing great fishing from Good Hope Bay downstream. It is still quite slow in the Hite area.
October 1, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3626
Water Temp: 73-75 F
sskids98.jpg
The upper lake is slumbering under a warm blanket of shad. It has been a pleasant month for predators as they simply have to open mouth and swim quickly for a few feet to catch all the shad necessary. So they bask in the forest of brush and eat at their leisure. The lack of urgency, minimal movement and abundance of food combine to add inches to length and girth. All game fish are growing bigger and heavier. The outlook is glowing for next year. Anglers who like bigger fish will be so pleased. The price in the short term is very tough fishing for fat sassy fish. Even catfishing is slow.

Striper fishing north of Good Hope is slow with jigging and boil searches going unrewarded. There is an occasional fish caught on top but the wait is very long. The only consistent success comes from trolling a deep diving lure at 15-25 feet across points in Striper City (buoy 130- 135).
Jamie and Molly Packer and cousin.

Bass fishing is better with large and smallmouth chasing shad in coves. Bass can be caught on topwater lures, shad crankbait and plastics.

THE SOUTHERN LAKE IS COMING ALIVE! Stripers are boiling stronger with each passing day. Boils are still random. There may only be one boil encountered each day due to chance and circumstances, but the experience will be memorable. These stripers are getting big and strong. It has been a 3 or 4 years since fat 4-pounders were consistently caught. But that time is now and it will continue over this winter and into next spring. Good times are back!

The list of boil locations is growing. Boils have happened each day near Lone Rock the past week with mid day being the most consistent time. Antelope Marina has had some huge boils that come up randomly every second or third day. These boils have been visible from the marina and even the restaurant window.

From Wahweap to the mouth of the San Juan boils have been seen in random but grand fashion. Find the fish, get in range to make a cast, and the hookup is assured. I prefer topwater lures but a rattletrap or variety of lures that run shallow will all work. The key is to use a big lure that can be cast for distance in case the boil turns away after the first fish is hooked. Stripers are big enough now that it takes a while to get them to the boat.

My maximum efficiency plan is to have at least two rods ready for action. Flop the first fish in the boat and cast the second rod instead of unhooking the first fish. Use a lure with single hook so the only person with an unexpected piercing is the fish.

Bass fishing is now excellent in the southern lake. Top water, plastics and cranks fished on the deep water side of visible brush or in the shade of steep cliffs around broken rock is almost guaranteed.

Don't put the fishing rods away. October is AWESOME at Lake Powell (South) right now.
September 26, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3627
Water Temp: 77-79 F
jjsmb.jpg
Striped bass have apparently gone on a two week vacation. Fishing for the normally voracious predators has been uncharacteristically quiet. The culprit seems to be living the high life for most of the summer. Stripers are fat and apparently content to coast for a while on the reserves they stored during the easy days of summer.

Shad are still abundant but some schools are moving to the backs of coves. This is normal shad behavior in the fall and may explain the present lack of surface feeding activity. Stripers are still looking in the main channel for an easy meal. Shad are not there and/or stripers have not found them. This separation is short term. Stripers will get hungry soon and begin searching until shad are found. Boils will start up again but they will now be found on shore instead of in open water.
Jamie Jenneve's other son from NY with smallmouth caught from shore.


The best striper action of the past week occurred when a striper school was graphed and seen feeding at depth on shad. Then spoons dropped straight down on the active school worked for a short time before the school scooted off to parts unknown. It is still difficult to stay with the rapidly moving striper schools.

Not to worry- Bass have come to the rescue. Large and smallmouth bass fishing is wonderful. The pattern is quite specific, but once bass are located they are easy to catch.

Imagine a slick rock cove with brush and rocks piled along the shoreline in the back of the cove. The tendency is to move in close to shore to get in casting range of the visible brush and rocks. That is ALMOST the right thing to do. Bass are actually holding in deep water very near the cove. Remember all that brush covered by 45 feet of rising water is still out there. Find the first underwater tree that you can see or graph. Then turnaround and fish on the deep water side of the tree. Bass are in 25-40 feet of water in the migration lane leading to that great looking brushy cove. Instead of casting to the shoreline, fish the slot in the middle of the canyon leading to the cove.

The best technique for imitating a prey fish in open water at depth is a drop shot rig where the weight is on the bottom and the plastic lure is suspended 18 inches above substrate. Use a gray or green shad imitating bait. Find a fish or two on the graph. Drop the bait under the boat until it stops sinking. With the weight on the bottom, lift the lure gently to its full 18-inch height and get set for a quick hook up.

Fishing is best from Padre Bay to Good Hope with the terminal ends of the lake quiet.
September 19, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3627
Water Temp: 77-79 F
jjblue.jpg
Darn old full moon really put the fish down early this week. Fish are fat after chowing down all summer on a surplus supply of shad. There is plenty of forage. Living is easy. All this adds up to tough fishing for sportsmen when fish get a blast of full moon-itis. But this will pass. By the time the report makes the rounds the worst will be over and fishing will perk up once more.

Striper boils are now defined as 3 fish splashing within 50 yards of each other. They can be caught if the surface lure is presented on time before the splash ring goes away. Splashing fish may be either bass or stripers. They are all lazily eating shad on the surface. The surface action may last for two bites but fish are up and gone in a flash.
Jamie Jenneve's son from NY with boil-caught striper.

The best way to catch them is to drop spoons in the vicinity of the splash rings. The best depth for spooning is 40 feet. When a school is graphed on bottom, drop the lure until it touches and then jig in short strokes. If the school is suspended, drop the lure below the school and then speed reel through the fish. Pause when above the fish and drop the lure back through the fish zone. This technique will catch more stripers than any other right now.

The only really good time of day right now is evening. As the moon darkens, mornings will get progressively better. The twilight periods are far superior to any other time of day for fishing success.

There are fish to be caught in these conditions. My best technique today was to find a long rocky point covered with tamarisk trees. Follow the point out until treetops are just barely visible under water. Fish shad and bluegill crankbaits and plastics where bottom depth is 20-30 feet. A Storm Wild-eye swimbait was the best lure today. Let it swim through the tree tops and drop along the edges to find bass lurking in the trees. Bass fishing really saved the day when stripers were not ready to go for us.

At Bullfrog there were a few striper boils (3 fish) in the early morning in Hansen Creek, Lake Canyon and Halls Creek. Spooning near the boils produced a few stripers. The only really good spooning spot found was at the tire breakwater guarding Bullfrog Main Ramp which produced some 30 fish catches early in the week.

Water temperature is cooling and the moon is getting darker. Fishing will be back to normal with a good fishing success rate as the moon gets dark at month end.
September 10, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3628
Water Temp: 77-80 F
Mbiagi.jpg
The theme for this report is "good fishing". That takes on different connotations in Lake Powell when compared with most other fisheries. Anglers at Powell usually catch large numbers of fish while those fishing other waters are content with fewer fish. Both fishing experiences are fun but expectations are different.

The immense size of the lake provides space for innumerable predator fish that are often forage limited. Hungry fish are easy to catch. Infrequently the lake balance swings away from being predator heavy and forage fish are more abundant. Flourishing forage is normal in most waters but when that happens at Powell an adjustment in fishing attitude is required.
Michelle Biagi with striper caught near Rock Creek.

Stripers drive the Lake Powell fishery. They eat early and often which makes them easy to find while they are roaming and searching for food. This year feeding is easy in the northern lake. Stripers are fat. Meals are provided in a short order without great effort. Roaming and searching for food is limited.

To be successful in these conditions feeding habits must be understood and exploited. Stripers feed for the first and last two hours of daylight. They are nocturnal and will feed in dark periods as well. The prized surface feeding events (boils) occur consistently during the dawn and dusk period and randomly during the day. Wind blows away the boil and stripers just feed at depth instead of the surface. The strategy is to be in postion to find a boil when the sun comes up.

Recently the southern lake is "better" for boils. There are less shad, making stripers search harder and boil more often. Cruise the lake from Wahweap to Rainbow for a chance to see a morning boil. The mouth of the San Juan may be the most consistent boil spot now but the channel from San Juan to Bullfrog is also productive.

The northern portions of the lake (Hite and San Juan) are still forage-heavy with less surface action. Fishing is great for bass along the rocky shore and in the brushy coves. If fishing the northern lake, target bass and take advantage of a striper school when they pop to the top or cross the screen of the graph. The best technique is the jigging spoon placed immediately in the fast moving school. Catch them quick because they move on in a short time.

What has been described here is Lake Powell fishing success being much like most other fisheries. It should be enjoyed knowing that fish are having an easy time right now. But these conditions will not last long. Shad will be consumed in huge numbers. The shad spawn next spring will be small due to the high numbers of shad competing with each other for food. The end result will be a normal Lake Powell high success year in 2009 with big fish being common. That will be a peak year to be remembered. Plan now to fish the lake in 2009.

For this week we have to be satisfied with only catching 10-30 fish per day, unless bass fishing and then the numbers go up. I know this is "slow" fishing by Lake Powell standards, but today's sacrifice will lead to a brighter tomorrow.
September 2, 2008
By Wayne Gustaveson
Lake Elevation: 3629
Water Temp: 78-80 F
mgonzo2.jpg
The biggest change this week is a drop in surface water temperature. After more than a month of water warmer than 80 degrees, the lake has finally dipped down to 78 F in the morning. Nights are cooler and days shorter. While there will still be some warm days, water temperature will decline steadily from now on. Fall fishing excellence is just ahead.

The Labor Day storms left us uncertain as to changes in fish location and behavior. Few reports were given. It is assumed that fish just went deep and will now resume the patterns established last week.
Michelle Gonzalez caught two boiling stripers on one cast

Over the length of the lake, big strong striper boils happen once in a while. More often there are scattered feeding events marked by a few fish surfacing at random wide spread locations. Some times all is quiet, particularly during the mid day period.

Best fishing strategy for this week is to search for that big boil. If found, the rewards are tremendous with numerous strong, fat 2-3 pound stripers that can be caught as long as the fish feed on top - which may be over an hour. These huge boils occur during the first two hours of daylight and the last two hours of light at night.

Last week they were found in Padre Bay, Rock Creek, Oak Canyon, Jacks Arch Cove (San Juan mouth), Red Canyon, and Trachyte. At least every third day these boils light up to the delight of all those lucky enough to be close by.

More often (daily) scattered fish are seen morning and evening marking the location of feeding schools. A few of these can be caught with surface lures thrown right into the splash ring. The better approach is to graph the 30-60 foot bottom contour where the single splashes are seen. Find the big school on the bottom for the best fishing experience. These can be readily caught on spoons. Surfacing fish mark the location of feeding events and deep running schools. The feeding action is going on at depth so mimicking a dying shad with a spoon falling to the bottom is the most productive technique to try. This will be the most rewarding technique to pursue while waiting for the big boil to appear.

Bass fishing continues to improve particularly around feeding stripers. Stripers are easy to see and bass are close to the feeding commotion. Try cranking rattle traps and other shallow runners in the structure nearest to the surface commotion. Both large and smallmouth bass are there feeding on fleeing shad. Largemouth are more likely to be in brush structure while smallmouth will be around rocky points and ledges. The most productive plastic bass lure reported last week was the standard watermelon colored green tube jig.

Catfish are still feeding near camp and sunfish are in the brush.

The cooling weather will spark increased fish activity and also be kinder to anglers who may not like the heat.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top